Bench Warmer

-an oasis behind rusted, twisted metal and weeds

The background noise generated by dozens of special needs clients rivals a busy day care center. My open-aired cubicle has been situated in the orchestra section of center stage for the last fourteen years. The non-verbal clients emit vocalizations that would surprise a midwife. From my ordinary desk, mental coping strategies allow me to block out virtually all noise without any training by a yoga master. The only time I hear background noise is when someone brings it to my attention. Such was the case when a parent of a child on my caseload paid me a impromptu visit and pointedly asked me how I can get any work done with that noise. My answer was patented honesty to the visitor who brought the high decibel level to my ear’s immediate attention.

“What noise? I didn’t hear anything until you mentioned it.”

Once tuned back into the soundtrack, however, I have difficulty turning it off. After my visitor left with her question answered, I listened to the sounds for several more minutes before I got annoyed at myself for not being able to regroup. I walked outside for a breath of fresh air. Severed from the sounds, I strolled behind the building turning near some rusted storage sheds on the property to the end of a hedgerow separating work from an apartment complex. Then it revealed itself. A wooden bench shaded by a magnificent tree. All these years that I had not even ventured this far from my desk and there was the habitat for humanity right next door inviting my duff. I walked over and sat down on the bench. No noise. No stress. No pressure. No phone calls. No visitors. My bump rested peacefully on the wooden plank slats. I stretched my legs out in the grass. A gentle breeze filtered through the leaves whispering to the evening shade of my career. I inhaled heavenly serenity and wondered how in the hell this bench got here.